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The French Revoulution
In 9th grade Global Studies one of the topics covered was the French Revolution. This unit was one of the first lessons that actually came alive to me. I learned about both sides of the revolution and not just the side of the victor as most history classes did. As well as learning about the French Revolution we read the Communist Manifesto in class. Overall, the class really romanticized Communism, something that I never had before and never have had after. -
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Robert's Education Timeline
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Cleveland is Founded
In 1796 Moses Cleaveland was sent into the area now known as Northeast Ohio to survey the land by the Connecticut Land Company. The place that he set as the main city where the Cuyahoga River met Lake Erie he name after himself, Cleveland. This impacted my education because I am fascinated by Cleveland’s history because I grew up in the area. The history of Cleveland help me develop the belief that to be a productive citizen that you must know about the area that you live in. -
Ancestors move to the United States
Sometime in the beginning of the 19th century my ancestors move to America from Ireland, mostly. My father always has been interested with our heritage, and as a result so am I. To learn the particulars of my family I needed to know what all Irish immigrants. I learned the struggle of all of the Irish, and it’s another event that really sparked my interest in History. It just reminds me that history is all around me, I just need to do a little work to find it, which in a weird way is comforting. -
End of Andrew Jaskson's Presidency
Andrew Jackson is my favorite president for many reasons. He moved America forward in a way that I truly admire, and he did it his own way. He had an idea of what he wanted America to be, and if others opposed him he simply shot their ideas down. He moved power away from the national government to the states all the while keeping a strong union. If I ever become a leader, I want to be like “Old Hickory.” -
Creation of The Department of Education
The idea that all children should receive the same education is a noble one, and in 1867 the idea became somewhat possible. The Department of Education was created to try to create one curriculum for all public schools. As we see today the Department of Education didn’t accomplish all of its goals, but it would be hard to think of a productive schools system without it. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson was a court case that ruled that separate but equal was constitutional. This action created different public places for black and whites, including public schools. However the places created were not always equal, leaving black very under resourced. I think that this court case still has an impact of Public schools today, and even though the court case has been overturned were are still seeing the affects of the decision. -
The Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was another topic that was covered in my 9th grade Global studies class, and is one of the reasons that I have a want to become a history teacher. We learned more than just the facts behind the event, and as a result I was more interested in the topic. As a class we were not forced to sit down and no facts, our teacher wanted to know why events were happening, I want to become that type of teacher. -
Brown v. Board
Brown v. Board was the court case that overturned the ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson. As a result of the ruling there was to be no more “separate but equal” public buildings, including schools. Brown v. Board started the gradual change to integrate public schools. Even though the court ruling was in 1954 there is still a lot of progress to be made in order to really see the ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson overturned. -
Grandfather Moves to Ohio
Prior from my grandfather moving to Ohio, my whole family was based off a large farm in West Virginia. I often like to think how different my life would be if he would have never moved. I know one thing is for sure, that I would not have attended college, at least one like John Carroll. I would have spent most of my life working on the farm that my family had, and might have died there. No necessarily a worse life, just a different one. -
Perry Nuclear Power Plant Opens
When First Energy opened a Nuclear power plant it brought more than just electricity to the area, along with it came funding for the Perry Public School system. As a result Perry received a brand new school, as well as many other luxuries including a Community Fitness center. My family moved to Perry so that their children could benefit from the new technology and the excess of funding, and I believe that I did benefit from the move to Perry. -
My Family's Move to Perry
My family’s first home was in the small town of Fairport Harbor, Ohio. Fairport Harbor’s school system was struggling, and my parents recognized that. My parents wanted to move our family, and the place where they settled was in Perry, Ohio. Perry’s school system was similar to Fairport’s for many years until First Energy moved a Nuclear Power Plant into the area, and all of the tax money went to Perry Public Schools. I believe I benefited greatly from going to Perry compared to Fairport Harbor -
Game 7
If you are wondering how a sporting can affect a person’s educational life, here’s how. 1997 was one of the first baseball seasons that I actually watched. As the story goes the Cleveland Indians lost the game and the World Series. But the game left a great love for Cleveland, and its sports teams. My love of the sports teams was one of the reasons I decided to come to John Carroll University, so I could be closer to the arena and stadiums. It may sound silly, but to a sports fan it makes sense. -
3rd Grade Spelling
I have never been a prominent speller to say the least. Without the use of work processors like Microsoft Word I can’t imagine how atrocious I would be at spelling even the simplest words. However Microsoft Word couldn’t help me in 3rd grade when I almost failed the subject of spelling, a stupid subject in my opinion. To avoid having to go to special spelling classes, I had to study every night with my parents, and luckily it worked. -
My Experience with Looping
For my 3rd and 4th grade years I had the option to loop, which meant that I would have the same teacher for both years. At the time, the idea sounded great. While in the class I remember enjoying my time, but looking back upon the time in the class, it seems different. I think that both the students and teacher became bored with each other during the years, and I think if I had the choice to go back I would not opt to do the looping class again. -
No Child Left Behind Act
Under George Bush’s presidency one of the main issues that was passed that impacted students the most was the No Child Left Behind Act. The way that I remember the Act is that tests at the end of each year became school policy, and I hated it. As much as the Act prepared me for the ACT and SAT I saw no purpose in the test, but I saw that rather as a general waste of time. But I guess that is due to how well prepared I was for the tests. -
9th Grade Global Studies
In 9th grade at Perry High School every student dreaded taking Mrs. Phillips-Brown’s global studies class. She had a reputation of being a challenging teacher, and from my experience with her, she lived up to her reputation. On the second day of class I was singled out and yelled at my Mrs. P-B, as she as affectionately called. After being yelled at for not doing a simple assignment, I began taking the class very seriously. Mrs. P-B made me grow up a bit wither I liked it or not. -
Read Albert Camus' The Stranger
In my senior English course my teacher always tried to challenge me as much as possible, one day it came in the form of Albert Camus’ “The Stranger.” Camus’ book made me think quite differently than I was accustomed to. After reading the book I never went back to the way of thinking I had prior to reading the book. I think that this was the turning point in my educational career, and to think that I was reluctant to read the book in the first place. -
First Day at John Carroll University
When I walked into my first class at John Carroll University it was the first time that I attended a Private school, and as I soon learned the difference between private & public schools were greater that I imagined. There was something of a culture shock that took place, and it took a while for me to adjust. As a result of the this experience I am fascinated with the differences of public and private schools, and how to close the gap between the two. -
First Day of Service at John Carroll
I thought I had a fairly firm grip on what public school education was all about, especially seeing how I attended public school my whole life. That remained until I started my first service project at Wiley Middle School. Wiley is part of the Cleveland Heights School District, and compared to many schools just down the road from them, is well funded. That being said Wiley was much different than my perception of public school. Wiley made me take a second look at the idea of public schooling. -
First Day of Service for St. Monica's
When I started my service at St. Monica’s I knew very little of the day to day workings of a catholic elementary school. What I experienced was quite different than what I saw expecting. I knew thought there were so many differences between public schools and parochial schools. My service experience has prompted me to look into the differences of the two types of schools a little more closely, notably in my previous essay. The topic is something that I wish to look into further.